Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

We Believe in the Power of Women to Create A More Perfect Democracy

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are central to the League's current and future success in engaging ALL individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy.

There shall be no barriers to full participation in the League on the basis of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, native or indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socioeconomic status, language, accent, ability status, mental health, educational level or background, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role function, thinking style, personality type, physical appearance, political perspective or affiliation and/or any other characteristic that can be identified as recognizing or illustrating diversity.

Clallam County Diversity Data

Ethnically-speaking, Clallam County is not a very diverse county. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the county’s total population of 71,404 people was composed of 81% Caucasian and:

19% minority or mixed-race, those being:

American Indian and Alaska Native alone, 5.60%

Asian alone, 1.90%

Black or African American alone, 1.20%

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone, .20%

Two or More Races, 4.00%

Hispanic or Latino, 6.40%

48.8% over 18 and under 65

16.40% living in poverty

14.30% with a disability

One of the National League’s goals, and ours as well, is to encourage and welcome diverse members of our communities into the League - not only those identified above, but those with any other characteristic, as outlined in our DEI policy, that can be identified as recognizing or illustrating diversity – and to work to ensure that we are fair, impartial, and inclusive of them..

To that end, we share with our League members, and all members of our community, the continuous learning resources below, as identified or generously provided by the League of Women’s Voters National.

DEI Continued Learning and Resources

TED Talks and Videos

Pain, Passion, and Possibility: Learning from Difficult Subjects: How do we have difficult conversations on painful subjects such as gender, racial and sexual inequality, discrimination and oppression in ways that enable, connect and empower students, co-workers, community members and ourselves? Dr. Tricia Rose, Brown University Professor, will address this issue with particular attention to race and gender by drawing on her own scholarship, life and seventeen years of university teaching.

The Danger of A Single Story: Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.

How Studying Privilege Systems Can Strengthen Compassion: Peggy McIntosh, Wellesley College's Aassociate Director for the Center for Research addresses issues of equity and privilege as they relate to race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. Her TED Talk offers a shift in the traditional view of race, equity and privilege. McIntosh uses her own experience as a white woman to inform her own knowledge of racial experiences from a white perspective.

Feminist Friendship:Feminism is hard and complicated—doing good feminist work and doing work to be a good feminist is even harder, says Dr. Cori Wong, Feminist/Philosopher. White feminists have a long history of ignoring intersectionality within the women’s movement; rather than leveraging differences among women as strengths and a resource, they continue to be ignored. Dr. Cori Wong developed a model of Feminist Friendship to call attention to the skills we already utilize to maintain our closest relationships as well as allow us to better engage in social justice.

Your Privilege Is Showing: Lillian Medville, creator of the experience-based card game Your Privilege is Showing explains that whether we acknowledge it or not, race, sex, gender, class, and privilege are all part of our daily lives no matter who we are, what we look like, or where we’re from. But too often we don't talk about these issues for fear of saying the wrong thing, or that the conversations will be difficult, bitter, and even painful.

LWVUS Webinars and Webinar Recordings on Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity

Making a Personal DEI Commitment - July 25, 2019: This webinar explored how each of us should make a personal commitment to DEI and use it to enhance our League work in this area. The webinar provided resources for doing so and all participants were asked to commit to doing at least one thing over the next six months.

DEI Lens - June 27, 2019: This webinar explored the concept of a DEI lens, how to view your League work through it, and how to expand that work to be more diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Examples were provided on mission impact work through a DEI lens.

Feminist Friendship - May 24, 2019: This webinar was presented by Dr. Cori Wong. Dr. Cori Wong serves as Assistant Vice President for Gender Equity in the Office of the Vice President for Diversity at Colorado State University and Director of the Women & Gender Collaborative, a presidential initiative to improve the campus culture and climate around gender. Passionate about intersectional feminism as a means for liberation and political transformation, Dr. Wong centers education, critical reflection, and dialogue across difference as strategies for individuals, groups, and organizations to create supportive and inclusive cultures where all people can thrive. She demonstrates that when done well, the work to get there can be as fun and exciting as it is important and challenging.

The Power of Words and Common Definitions - April 25, 2019: Using our the League's DEI policy and our definitions of diversity, equity, and Inclusion, this webinar covered the words we use in our DEI work and their meaning. We discussed the importance of knowing what specific words mean and when to use them and how similar words have important distinctions.

The Danger of a Single Story and Calling In - March 28, 2019: This webinar covered with Novelist Chimamanda Adichie's TED Talk The Danger of a Single Story. How can the single stories we hold can impact how we welcome others and build relationships in all aspects of life, including our League work?

Advancing the League’s Goal to Increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Through Action - October 30, 2018: Led by Diversity Dimensions Consulting, LLC—a Washington, D.C. based company that provides effective solutions to individuals and organizations seeking to harness the power of diversity and inclusion—this session put DEI principles into action to increase the League’s social impact work in communities across the nation.